Self-locking connector for fluid transfer



Jan. 21; 1969 AF. S. ALLINQUANT SELF-LOCKING CONNECTOR FOR FLUID TRANSFER Filed Dec. 19, 1966 2l, 1969 F. s. ALLINQUANT 3,422,84

SELF-LOCKING CONNECTOR FOR FLUID TRANSFER Filed Dec. 19, 196e sheet 2 of 2 29 l 20G 28C 30 2l 17o 3, 3,6 3 l 22o 28h 3,422,864 SELF-LOCKING CONNECTOR FOR FLUID TRANSFER Fernand Stanislas Allinquant, 53 Ave. Le Notre, Sceaux- Hauts-de-Seine, France Filed Dec. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 602,920 Claims priority, application France, Dec. 22, 1965, 43,417; Sept. 14, 1966, 76,395 U.S. Cl. 141--347 6 Claims Int. Cl. B65b 1/04; F17c 5 /00, F161 37/28 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A self-locking connector for transferring uid under pressure and having a male member insertable into a female member, said male member having an annular seal which is radially deformable in response to Huid pressure to create a tight seal between the male and female members while iluid is owing from the reservoir to the reception chamber.

The present invention relates to transfer devices for supplying pressurised fluid, and is concerned in particular, but not exclusively, with ller guns used in connection with hydraulic pit props.

Such pit props are in fact simple hydraulic rams, which are employed to support the roofs of mine galleries. These pit props are lled by means of a gun dispensing liquid at a sufficiently high pressure to produce a lifting force in the pit prop, causing it to extend. To lill a pit prop, the end of the gun is inserted in a 'filler socket of the pit prop, this socket communicating, through a non-return valve, with the cylinder of the prop, and the trigger of the gun is then operated in order to inject pressurised liquid through said filler socket.

It is desirable that the ller gun should be capable of being handled with one hand, the operation being carried out as rapidly as possible and with an effectiveness of sealing, between the gun and the socket, which can cope with pressures in the order of between 0 and 200 kg./cm.2.

In accordance with the present invention, the nozzle of the gun, when engaged in the filler socket, forms in conjunction therewith a self-locking connector. To this end, the feed and discharge passages for the pressurized liquid, these being formed respectively in the nozzle of the gun and in the female component whose bore forms the ller socket, open laterally into a chamber which is formed between the said gun nozzle and the said bore and is separated from the entry and the base of the bore by sealing means comprising at least one radially deformable element, c g. a lip-type seal, co-operating with the gun nozzle and the bore in such a way that the wall portions of the said chamber carried with the gun nozzle have a slightly larger radial area at the end near the base of the bore than at the end near the entry thereof.

As soon as the trigger of the gun is operated, the liquid pressure which develops in this chamber exerts on the nozzle of the gun a moderate force which urges it towards the base of the bore against a stop.

Thus, the invention automatically ensures that a sealed connection is formed, and ensures that the gun is held in the filler socket. The invention is not, of course, limited in application to the lling of hydraulic pit props, but can advantageously be employed in any gun or similar device which is used to transfer a pressurised liquid or compressed gas.

The ensuing description, which relates to the accompanying drawings given by way of a non-limitative example, will demonstate how the invention may be carried into elect.

nited States Patent O In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 illustrates an embodiment of ller gun in accordance with the invention, seen in elevation and in partial section;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view on a larger scale, of the nozzle of the gun in the position it occupies when pressure-locked into the ller socket of a hydraulic pit prop;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view on the same scale as FIGURE 1, showing a diiferent embodiment of the iiller socket;

FIGURE 4 is a similar view to that shown in FIGURE 3, illustrating another embodiment of the filler socket.

The gun of FIGURE 1 is designed to ll a hydraulic pit prop, the filler socket of which is illustrated in FIG- URE 2.

The gun comprises a body 1, designed to receive at 1a a ilexible hydraulic hose for supplying pressurised liquid, and a trigger 2 which pivots about a spindle 3 and operates a needle valve, which is not shown. A gun of this kind is well known in these respects and therefore neeed not be described in any further detail; it need merely be said that on drawing back the trigger 2, the needle valve is operated and this admits liquid under pressure into the passage `4 formed in the nozzle 5 of the gun.

The longitudinal passage 4 opens into a transverse" drilling 4a which itself opens into an annular groove or throat 6 formed at the central part of the nozzle 5, between two seals 7 and 8. The seal 7, situated at the side nearer the tip of the nozzle, is a double-lip seal, whilst the other seal is a simple O-ring.

The nozzle `4 is protected by a telescoping metal casing 9 loaded by a spring 9a.

The ller socket is constituted by a female component 10 Xed to the lateral wall 10a of the cylinder of the pit prop, and containing a circular bore 11. The end portions 11a and 11b of this bore are cylindrical and its central portion 11C is undercut to produce a larger diameter, this portion being linked to the said cylindrical end portions through tapered sections 12 and 13 of very llat taper, in order thus to form an annular recess or depression. Into the central portion 11a` opens a passage 14 which terminates in a non-return valve 15, the valve bore 16 of which is connected through a pipe 17 to the cylinder of the pit prop (not shown).

The double-lip seal 7 is partially enclosed by the nozzle 5 of the gun, being tted against a shoulder 18 thereon. The external lip 7a has a diameter, in the free state, near to that of the end portion 11a at the entry of the bore 11.

To commence filling, the nozzle S of the gun is introduced into the bore 11; during this movement, the casing 9 strikes the component 10 surrounding the entry of the bore 11, and collapses, compressing the spring 9a, which is very weak. When the nozzle of the gun abuts the base 11d of the bore it is in the operating position illustrated in FIGURE 2, and the undercut (12, 11C, 13) which is situated at the central part of the bore 11, in conjunction with the central part of the entered gun nozzle, forms an annular chamber 19. This chamber 19 is closed ott by the seal 7 from the annular space formed between the base portion 11b of the bore 11 and the tip portion 5b of the gun nozzle 5. The chamber 19 is isolated from the entry of the bore 11 by the O-ring 8 which is attached to the base portion 5a of the gun nozzle and cooperates with the entry portion 11a of the bore. In this operating position, the drilling 4a and the throat 6 of the gun nozzle are located opposite the central portion 11c and the passage 14 of the bore, and the external lip 7a of the seal 7 is located opposite the tapered portion 13 of the bore.

When the trigger 2 of the gun is operated, in order to introduce pressurised liquid into the passage 4, this liquid enters the chamber 19. The pressure tends to open the lip 7a, which is urged against the Wall of the taper 13 to seal this end of the chamber 19 with an effective radial area which is larger than that of the other end of the chamber, i.e. that of the cylindrical portion 11a against which the O-ring 8 is applied. Accordingly, as far as the pressure acting on the radial areas constituted by the assembly 5, 7, 8, is concerned, there is a higher force towards the right (considering FIGURE 2) than towards the left.

The result of this is that the gun experiences a thrust to the right which tends to keep its nozzle 5 in contact with the base 11d of the bore 11, this thrust being the higher the greater the pressure involved.

If, for example, the entry portion 11a of the bore has a diameter of mm., it is possible, to arrange that the lip 7a of the seal 7 is applied against a portion of the taper 13 having a diameter of 10.4 mm. The difference in area between these two sections will thus be 6 mm?, and for a filling pressure of 100 kg./cm.2, this produces a force of 6 kg. on the gun. Since, as has been indicated, the filling pressure is generally between 50 and 200 kg./ cm?, it is not necessary to hold the gun in. Furthermore, since the connector arrangement is of circular form, it is possible if desired to twist the gun in any desired direction about the axis of the bore 11, without any risk of the gun coming out.

Filling is effected by keeping the trigger 2 of the gun pulled back, so that the liquid passes from the space 19 into the cylinder of the pit prop, through the non-return valve 15. When the trigger 2 is released, the chamber 19 remains under pressure; it is therefore necessary to pull the gun in order to overcome the thrust and release it from the bore, until the O-ring 8 comes out of the entry portion 11a. The pressure in the space 19 then drops very rapidly such that the external lip 7a of the seal 7, which is opposite the central portion 11e of the bore, returns to its relaxed position and can thus be withdrawn through the entry portion 11a.

To achieve this result, it is of course necessary for the O-ring seal i8 to be held in a position on the nozzle 5 of the gun which, in the operating position, is nearer the entry end of the bore 11 than the lip seal 7 is to the entry portion 11a.

FIGURE 3 illustrates a different embodiment of the female component 10. In this embodiment, the bore 11 is formed in a sleeve which is pierced -by a ring of holes 21 around the central portion 11C of the bore. These holes 21 open into the throat 22 formed on the outside of the sleeve 20.

The sleeve is attached at 23, for example by screws,

in a bore 24 formed in the component 10, such that they r said throat 22 forms a closed annular chamber which is closed by two seals 25, 26 and into which opens the passage 14 from the non-return valve 15.

This arrangement has two advantages. First of all, the liquid discharged from the gun into the chamber 19 is evacuated more directly from this chamber through the r multiple holes 21 of FIGURE 3, than through the single hole of the embodiment of FIGURE 2. Moreover, it is possible to give the throat 22 :a sufficient axial extent to vallow the passage 14 to open into a point near the base of the bore 11; the result of this is `a ybetter arrangement for the pipe section 17, which can be run straight along the lateral wall 10a of the pit prop cylinder. In contrast to this, it will ibe seen that in the case of FIGURE 2 the passage 14 has to open into the central part 11c of the bore, i.e. at quite a distance away from the wall 10a, this necessitating a dog-leg in the pipe 17.

FIGURE 4 illustrates another different embodiment of the female component. In this FIGURE 4, the sleeve 20a has the same internal form as the sleeve 20 of FIGURE 3, i.e. it has an :axial bore 11 and a ring of holes 21 opening transversely into the undercut central portion 11e` of said bore. These holes 21 open externally into an annular throat 22a formed in the external surface of the sleeve 20a and similar to the throat 22 in FIGURE 3.

This annular throat 22a communicates with passages 27 drilled longitudinally in the sleeve 20a and opening out at that end of the said sleeve which is opposite to the end at which the gun is introduced. The sleeve 20a is located within the bore 28a of a further sleeve 28, the base of this bore comprising a shoulder 28b and a chamber 29 which communicates through a passage 30 with the end face of a reduced end portion 28e of the said sleeve 28. The sleeve 20a abuts the said shoulder 28b, the passages 27 opening out into the chamber 29, and is held in this position by a threaded cap 31 screwed onto an external thread on the sleeve 28, there being a sealing ring 32 and a lip seal 33 trapped between the cap 31 and the edge of the sleeve 28. The cap 3'1 has a central hole to accommodate the entry of said sleeve 20a, and rests against the shoulder on this sleeve.

The sleeve 20a thus constitutes, in association with the sleeve 28, an assembly which can very easily be inserted into a drilling 34 in a filler block (a sealing ring 36 being used) and held in place by a clip 37. The block 35 serves as the mounting for a valve assembly, which latter does not constitute a part of the invention and need not be described here. The passage 30 opens into a cavity 38 in the block 35, which communicates through a pipe (not shown) with the compression chamber (not shown) of a hydraulic pit prop, part of whose cylinder 10a and tubular piston rod 39, can be seen.

In operation, the nozzle of a gun device, similar to that of FIGURE l, is automatically locked, as already explained, in the bore 11 of the sleeve 20a, under the action of the pressure of the fluid delivered by said gun. The fluid passes through the 'holes 21, lifting the lip seal 33, into the throat 22a and thence through the passages 27, the chamber 29 and the passage 30, into the cavity 38 which communicates through the pipe (not shown) with the compression chamber of the pit prop. When the pit prop is at the desired pressure, the gun is withdrawn and the lip seal 33 acts as a non-return valve, replacing the valve 14 of the preceding embodiments and preventing the uid from escaping through the holes 21.

It goes without saying that the embodiments described are simply examples and are open to modification in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In particular, the double-lip seal 7 could be replaced by another type of radial deformation sheal. Furthermore, instead of being integral with the nozzle of the gun, it could be located in a groove in the female component at the entry end of the bore, and could co-operate with a tapered portion of a throat formed in the nozzle of the gun.

What I claim is:

1. Self-locking connector for transfer of uid under pressure, which can be fed through a feed passage controlled by a stop valve, to a reception chamber, comprising:

first and second connector elements having generally cylindrical co-operating male and female surfaces adapted to interfit with play the one in the other into an operative position and each having an entry portion adapted to slide relative to the surface of the entry portion of the other connector element, an intermediate portion adapted to be position opposite the intermediate portion of the other connector element in the operative position, and a terminal portion adapted to be positioned opposite the entry portion of the other connector element in the operative position,

stop means for limiting the interfitting of the connector elements, the one into the other, to define the operative position,

an inlet passage in the male connector element, connected to the feed passage and terminating at the intermediate portion of said male element,

an outlet passage in the female connector element, leading from the intermediate surface portion of this element and communicating with the reception chamber,

a non-return valve in the outlet passage,

an annular recess in the intermediate surface portion of the first connector element, adapted to form an intermediate chamber with the intermediate surface portion of the second connector element in the operating position,

a first annular seal fixed to the terminal portion of the second connector element, adapted to seat itself fluid-tight against the surface of the entry portion of the first connector element in the operative position, and

a second annular seal which is radially deformable, xed near the extremity of the intermediate portion of the second connector element adjacent the entry portion of this element, the second seal being adapted to contract radially to permit relative sliding movement of the entry portions, the one in the other, and to expand radially in the operative position under the effect of the pressure of the uid introduced into the intermediate chamber by opening the stop valve, in order to press in a Huid-tight manner against the annular recess of the first connector element.

2. Connector according to claim 1, wherein the recess has two tapering walls respectively adjoining the surfaces of the entry and terminal portions of the first connector element, and the second seal lies, in the operative position, against the tapering wall adjacent the terminal portion.

3. Connector according to claim 1, wherein the second connector element is the male element, the second seal is a lip seal which in the free state as an external diameter at the most equal to the internal diameter of the entry portion of the female connector element, and the first seal is fixed to a part of the male element which, in the operative position, s at a lesser distance from the entry portion of the female element than the lip seal is from that end of the annular recess nearer the entry portion of the female element.

4. Connector according to claim 1, wherein the first seal is a toric seal disposed in an annular groove in the second connector element.

5. Connector according to claim 1, in which the female connector element comprises a hollow member, a sleeve fixed in the hollow member and having an interior surface which forms the entry portion, the recessed intermediate portion and the terminal portion of the first connector element; an annular throat formed between the sleeve and the interior of the hollow member, which throat forms a portion of the outlet passage; and a plurality of orifices disposed in a ring around the sleeve and passing therethrough to effect communication of said annular throat with the intermediate chamber.

6. Connector according to claim 5, wherein the nonreturn valve is formed by a lip seal having a body held in position by an annular member which co-operates with the axis of the orifices opening into the annular throat.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,913,982 6/1933 Fox 251-149.6 2,135,222 11/1938 Scheiwer 137-614.04 2,457,052 12/1948 Le Clair 137-614.04 2,744,770 5/1956 Davidson et al. 251-149.6 XR 3,106,222 10/1963 Charles 137-614 3,148,714 9/1964 Hillier 141-347 3,378,225 4/1968 Snyder 251-149.6

DONALD E. WATKINS, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

